Posted By LeAnn Wallace
One way Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has proposed...for solving the multi–million dollar state budget deficit...is by taking $30 million dollars from an Iron Range economic development fund.
It's a plan that has the Iron Range legislative delegation "united in outrage" as LeAnn Wallace reports from the capital.
"Quite frankly it's another shot at the Iron Range by a Governor who hasn't treated Northeastern Minnesota very well at all," said Representative Tom Rukavina, DFL - Virginia.
Governor Tim Pawlenty hopes to take $30 million dollars from the Douglas Johnson Economic Protection Trust fund...a fund supported by taxes paid annually by Iron Range taconite mines.
Its one of the ways the governor is trying to offset the state's 1–point–2 billion dollar shortfall.
The Governor's proposal came as a surprise to many Iron Range lawmakers. They say that that fund is not there to help balance the state's budget.
"That 30 million dollars that he proposed taking is in lieu of property tax money, it's not state money, it belongs to the people of the Iron Range in the taconite area," said Senator Tom Bakk, DFL - Cook.
Senator David Tomassoni chairs the Iron Range Resources Board, which administers the distribution of the taconite fund.
Tomassoni says taking $30 million out of the $93 million dollar fund would be extremely damaging to the Range economy at a time the Range is in severe economic distress.
"It would cost in the area of one and a half million dollars of projects every single year and replenishing it would take several years."
The governor's budget proposal needs full legislative support to pass and lawmakers are hopeful he won't get that support.
"We don't have any intention of putting a bill like that on his desk," said Sen. Tomassoni.
"I think the idea is absurd and dead on arrival," said Rep. Rukavina.
Lawmakers say this was the only instance where the Governor proposed taking local property tax away from a community to balance the budget.
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